Tree leaves transitioned from vibrant green to a deeper hue, the spring rains faded away, the red flowers scattered their colors, and time swiftly moved past spring. In late March, willow catkins still floated on the Qinhuai River, but summer had definitely arrived. Ning Yi, Tan'er, and their family boarded a boat outside Jiangning City to travel back to the capital via the waterways.

During their month back in Jiangning, Ning Yi and Tan'er didn't have much to do. Besides paying respects to the family members who had died in the upheaval of the previous year, they only had the minor task of delivering congratulatory gifts to the Kang Wang Mansion, which they did immediately upon arrival. However, Xiao Pei herself was not in Jiangning during this time before her wedding, so Ning Yi did not see this female disciple who was about to be married off.

The Little Princess was about to marry, meaning she had come of age. Kang Wang, the Prince, did not treat Ning Yi, who was seemingly just a nominal guest teacher, with too much neglect. He came out to receive Ning Yi personally and accepted the calligraphy and paintings from Qin Si Yuan and the large amount of gifts from the Su family. However, he did not go into too much detail about Zhou Pei's whereabouts. Later, when Ning Yi visited Kang Xian, he understood the specifics.

At this time, the imperial clansmen of the Wu Dynasty generally had little freedom. Only a few could barely be considered exceptions. The imperial family's industries under Princess Zhou Xuan's name were now all over the country, and to some extent, were already able to influence the political situation. Now that Zhou Xuan and Kang Xian were both old, they were beginning to choose successors.

They certainly had children of their own, but none of them were as sensitive to economics and numbers as Zhou Pei. Therefore, when Zhou Pei showed some interest in this area, Zhou Xuan decided to hand over some of the matters to her. During this time, Zhou Xuan decided to visit the various imperial manors, and she took Zhou Pei along, both to let her understand the specifics and to have the stewards recognize her. Zhou Pei had both talent and interest in this matter, so Kang Xian casually mentioned it to Ning Yi.

Whether it was a good thing or not, Zhou Pei had found her position. On the other hand, Little Prince Zhou Junwu's Gewu Society, or "Society for the Investigation of Things," although not favored by others, had at least grown to some scale. In the past, he had just found a group of friends to casually mess around with. After Ning Yi spoke to him last year, he began to seek out craftsmen everywhere, starting with kites, gradually increasing the size and sturdiness of the kites, and selecting more ideal materials. By this year, the kites capable of carrying objects had become increasingly large. Meanwhile, work on increasing the size of Kongming lanterns was also underway.

Such a Gewu Society started as a small affair, and the Kang Wang Mansion simply turned a blind eye. But after the scale expanded, the issue of money inevitably had to be addressed. Zhou Junwu was a self-aware person. Starting a few months ago, he had been learning about the sources of income for the Wang Mansion, trying to bring some of the profitable shops under his name.

The Little Prince revealed his intention to make money and gain power, and he was sticking to the right path. He wasn't extorting a group of his buddies or simply wanting money without considering the consequences like other imperial descendants. Kang Xian considered this a symbol of his ambition. When he told Zhou Yong about it, Zhou Yong was also very happy. The Kang Wang Mansion's industry was not comparable to Princess Zhou Xuan's mansion, but they let him mess around with it. So recently, Little Junwu had squeezed a few profitable shops from the Wang Mansion's stewards into his hands, using the income from the shops to subsidize the Gewu Society, living his little life in a stumbling but tight-fisted manner.

After Ning Yi returned, Junwu happily showed off his achievements to him and took Ning Yi to see them. He remembered what Ning Yi had said about giving craftsmen status. He had never treated the recruited craftsmen unfairly, and even treated them with excessive courtesy. Ning Yi gave him some suggestions and opinions, telling him that he still had to optimize the reward and punishment mechanisms, and that he had to be efficient and couldn't be good to everyone. He also taught him some business experience.

As for what results this Gewu Society would eventually produce, Ning Yi was unwilling to worry about it. A hot air balloon with low safety might be possible, but even he couldn't build an airplane. What was important was that Junwu would find survival experience in these things. Therefore, Ning Yi specially instructed him about Junwu's tight budgeting. Saving money was okay, but many normal social expenses were still needed. Fortunately, Junwu was very well-educated and understood this very well. He was not stingy in his interactions with other royal nobles, but he had cut all his usual snacks, watching plays, and other projects, which made Ning Yi feel sorry for the Little Prince.

"Ask your sister for money later," Ning Yi said, patting him on the shoulder.

Junwu nodded matter-of-factly, "Yeah, definitely."

Besides these movements after returning home, Ning Yi usually just gave lectures at Yushan Academy and didn't run around much. At this time, Jiangning was full of an atmosphere of singing and dancing, without the frenzy of Bianliang, but always containing the elegance of the Jiangnan region. The Qinhuai River was lit up every night, and scholars and literati often produced masterpieces, celebrating the peace and prosperity of the country and the smooth Northern Expedition. Some people came to seek Ning Yi's attendance at gatherings, but Ning Yi refused them all.

Of course, sometimes when the time was right, it wasn't just these people who came to the door. As the richest man in Jiangning, Puyang Yi, the son of the Puyang family, had visited several times, sometimes bringing one or two people with him. The Puyang family had some connections in the officialdom and also had a share in the salt and tea business. Although they might not be well-known in Bianliang, they were probably one of the families that could be involved in the recent batch of accounts in the south. He came to find Ning Yi and Su Tan'er naturally for business matters, which will not be detailed here.

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The royal girl named Zhou Pei returned to Jiangning in May of this year.

After learning the news that the teacher had returned to Jiangning and then left, the girl looked at the gifts sent by the Su family one by one in the warehouse, and then did not show any unusual thoughts. The auspicious day for the wedding was the sixth day of June this year, and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Few people knew about the little budding feelings in the girl's heart, including her close brother Junwu, who did not know that she had a small period of affection in her youthful years. The girl finally decided to bury everything. On the eve of the wedding, she privately talked to the groom Qu Zonghui once. No one knew what they specifically talked about. It was only known that after this time, the wedding was held as scheduled. The two equally outstanding people became an admirable young couple who respected each other like guests.

Time passed and stars shifted. In the tide of the years, the fate of one or two people could not become the focus of everyone's attention. In the summer of this year, droughts and floods occurred frequently, and the Yellow River and Huai River flooded, causing severe rainstorms. Some parts of the south fell into extreme heat, and the rice harvest was completely lost.

At the same time, the situation of the Northern Expedition continued to develop and change.

In the past six months, although the Wu Dynasty had been celebrating the smooth Northern Expedition with singing and dancing, and literati had been enthusiastically writing articles praising this rare golden age for hundreds of years, the situation north of Yanmen Pass was beginning to become tense. This tension came from several aspects.

In the original alliance between the Wu Dynasty and the Jin people, it was agreed that after jointly attacking the Liao, the Wu Dynasty would get the original sixteen states of Yanyun that had been lost. Now that Yanjing had been captured and the sixteen states of Yanyun had changed hands, negotiations on the return of the sixteen states had become quite difficult since last year.

For the Wu Dynasty officials participating in the negotiations, the Jin people were no longer the humble startup group they had been. They forgot the Wu people's restraint on the Liao people, and became arrogant due to a series of victories. For the Jin people, the Wu Dynasty's slowness in the Northern Expedition, including its consistent defeats, had gradually turned their confusion into contempt. Although a core group of the Jin people, such as Wanyan Xiyin, still held respect for the Wu Dynasty's foundation, most people had begun to disregard the southern dynasty.

Of course, the number of Jurchens was not large. After quickly swallowing most of the Liao, they had slowed down slightly and begun to enjoy their gains. They had no need to fight the Wu Dynasty, but they could refuse to give up the sixteen states of Yanyun when the Wu Dynasty came to demand them.

Such a delay made most of the officials in the Wu Dynasty court who supported the Northern Expedition anxious. At the end of last year, Tong Guan and others decided to buy back Yanjing and the six states of Zhuo, Yi, Tan, Shun, Jing, and Ji by increasing the annual tribute by one million. At this time, the praise and rewards in the court were still constantly coming down, but the subsequent negotiations had fallen into a stalemate.

The Jurchens were too lazy to give up the remaining states, and the Jurchens currently had a saying: You can't beat the Liao people, so you pay them tribute. Now why don't we fight a fight on the border? If we win, you can add more tribute. If you can win, you can win back the tribute, how about that?

To maintain their winning streak, Tong Guan and others had raised more than 50 million strings of cash and begun to gradually buy cities from the Jurchens while announcing to the south: "We took this down ourselves." On the one hand, there was Tong Guan and others' "winning streak," and on the other hand, there was the Jurchens' reneging. Emperor Zhou Zhe began to issue orders in the capital, expressing his dissatisfaction with the Jurchens and demanding that they be "tougher." This made the people working in the north feel very embarrassed.

But the real problem was not with Tong Guan and his high-ranking officials. They still had money, whether it was an empty city or a ruined city, they could continue to buy it anyway. Now, Guo Yaoshi and others stationed in the north had real friction with the Jurchens. The reason for the friction was the agreement before the handover of the six states.

In order to first take back the credit, Tong Guan and others stipulated in the agreement signed with the Jin people that not only would the Wu Dynasty give the Jin people one million in annual tribute, but Tong Guan also promised that at the same time as handing over the six states, the Jin people could plunder all the gold, silk, children, officials, gentry, and wealthy households in the six states. Tong Guan didn't care whether there were people in the handed-over area, as long as he got the land, he would get the credit.

The Jurchens lacked people, but their own ability to mobilize was also limited. They began to sweep through the officials, gentry, and wealthy households in this area, first taking money and then grabbing some able-bodied men. On the other hand, Guo Yaoshi had already realized the importance of his troop strength before going to the capital to receive awards. During the handover process, he instructed his subordinates to begin to search for civilians to enlist in the army. So in the next few months, what happened on this vague border line between the Wu, Jin, and Liao turned into a true depiction of the proverb "I would rather die than cross Yanmen Pass."

The Jin people started scraping from the wealthy households, while the Changsheng Army, or "Ever-Victorious Army," recruited mostly from the poor households. In a sense, it could also be said that Guo Yaoshi was deliberately doing this to avoid friction. But in any case, when the two sides began to come into contact, friction was inevitable. The Jin people provoked several times -- they would not really start a fight with the Wu Dynasty at this time. Guo Yaoshi also endured several times. At this time, negotiations were still ongoing. Wu Dynasty officials were constantly negotiating the return of the sixteen states, but the Jurchens were too lazy to pay attention. When the Jurchens became angry due to the friction, the civil officials, led by Wang Anzhong, had to go over to negotiate, mediate, and apologize. As for the people, everywhere was broken and ruined, and they were already living in dire straits.

Many people in the south were aware of this situation, including Qin Siyuan and Ning Yi. In the end, the attitude of the Secret Intelligence Division was very simple: fully support Guo Yaoshi. When Guo Yaoshi asked the Wu Dynasty for money, weapons, and logistical support, the Prime Minister's Office provided full support. Guo Yaoshi's constant conscription and expansion of the army allowed some people who entered the army to have a way to survive.

And the civil officials, Wang Anzhong and others, were also depressed. In the Wu Dynasty, civil officials always controlled military officials, but here, not only did they have to watch Guo Yaoshi's face in everything, but they also had to apologize to the Jin people. He, as a "parent official," seemed extremely embarrassed under the chaotic situation.

As officials who could be sent here, they were not completely without integrity or ability. As parents of the people in one place, they naturally had to protect the territory and the people, but at this time, resentment was soaring, and they did not even have the ability to reach out and control it. Guo Yaoshi's Changsheng Army was also a factor that added to their troubles. In Wang Anzhong's eyes, Guo Yaoshi was arbitrary and domineering, and he was inhumane when he grabbed strong men. He searched for money and objects everywhere and gave them to various officials. Although he had to accept even if he sent it to himself, this deepened his dislike of Guo Yaoshi: a villain who makes friends and uses people for his own benefit!

All this could perhaps only be attributed to: he simply had no way to restrain Guo Yaoshi, the current popular person, and he had to put on a smiling face. As a civil official, he had originally gone north to make a career, but now... this official was too boring!

In June, a tense atmosphere swept in under this background.

Since Yanjing was broken, the Liao Dynasty had fallen into a state of lingering. Emperor Tianzuo was in exile, and pillars of the Liao Dynasty such as Yelu Dashi were either scattered or fleeing west. In January, just when Guo Yaoshi went to the capital to receive awards, Xiao Gan, the King of the Northern Court, declared himself emperor and gathered the Liao people to establish the Great Xi Kingdom. Xiao Gan was a man of great talent and strategy, and he had repeatedly rejected the Jin people in front of the battle. The generals who could fight the Jin people were even better at fighting the Wu people. Guo Yaoshi originally founded the Resentment Army under his control. In the Battle of Yanjing, he also killed his way back in time. Guo Yaoshi and others almost died at his hands and had a shadow of him. In June, due to lack of food, Xiao Gan finally attacked the Wu Dynasty again, sending troops to Lulong Ridge, and soon broke Jingzhou like a hot knife through butter, approaching directly.

The atmosphere was murderous.

At this time, although the Wu Dynasty was fighting under the name of the Northern Expedition, there were not many troops that could fight, especially in front of generals like Xiao Gan who could compete with the Jurchens. Everyone was worried. At this time, the Changsheng Army had expanded to 50,000 people, but it was still in training. Its local soldiers--that is, the militia that could be mobilized--were said to be 300,000. Under the urging of all parties, Zhang Linghui and Liu Shunren, who were also generals of the Changsheng Army, set out in mid-month to meet Xiao Gan.

Then, Xiao Gan broke Zhang Linghui and Liu Shunren at Shimen Town and captured Jizhou in a blink of an eye.

This was a real war. At this time, General Tong Guan had returned to the capital to receive awards. He repeatedly issued articles reprimanding Wang Anzhong and Guo Yaoshi. At the same time, they contacted the Jin people and began to lobby the other party to defeat Xiao Gan and hand him over to the Wu Dynasty. This transaction became a joke among the Jin people.

In mid-July, autumn had arrived, and the long summer heat did not seem to have faded away. In the capital, many officials were busy with the disasters in the north and south, and in such gaps, many people could not help but turn their eyes to the north in their idle talk, including Qin Siyuan, Ning Yi, and Yao Zunian.

At the same time, on the sixteen states of Yanyun, in a place called Yaopu, the army under Guo Yaoshi finally set out and came here, and his vanguard began to confront Xiao Gan.

Guo Yaoshi rode on his horse, looking into the distance at the fiery red flag belonging to Xiao Gan, his expression had become silent and firm. He thought of his mood when he first saw Xiao Gan more than two years ago.

The organization of the Resentment Army actually started seven years ago. At that time, Gao Yongchang of the Bohai Kingdom rebelled. The Liao people's punitive expedition was unfavorable at the time and was defeated by the Jurchens who supported Gao Yongchang. So Emperor Tianzuo ordered Yelv Chun, the Prince of Yan, to recruit starving people from Liaodong to join the army, taking the meaning of retaliating against the Jurchens, and named it the "Resentment Army."

At that time, these Liaodong people only joined the army to compete for a bite to eat, but at this time, the Liao Dynasty was already declining, and the treatment of this army was extremely poor. In the end, the "Resentment Army" did not achieve many victories, but instead rebelled repeatedly. Two years ago, the then leaders of the Resentment Army, Dong Xiaochou and others, rebelled because they were losing battles. Yelv Yudu, Xiao Gan, and others came to quell the rebellion. Guo Yaoshi knew that the Resentment Army was by no means the opponent of the other party. He killed Dong Xiaochou and others, accepted the recruitment, and that was the first time he saw Xiao Gan.

At that time, there were rumors in private that Yelv Yudu discussed with Xiao Gan in order to solve the rebellion of the Resentment Army once and for all, simply killing all the Resentment Army this time and eliminating them once and for all. But Xiao Gan had a straightforward nature and believed that "there may be loyal and righteous people who are temporarily coerced, how can they all be killed?" Xiao Gan's opening saved Guo Yaoshi and others' lives. When the matter spread, everyone was grateful to Xiao Gan. When Guo Yaoshi first saw Xiao Gan, he felt the other party's elegance and nobility, which was the aura of a real superior, not afraid of challenges and looking down on all sides.

But in his heart, he did not feel submission, only fear and insignificance.

In the eyes of these people, the Resentment Army was not really people. At first, the other party recruited this group of starving people to be soldiers, with the idea of giving them a life. These people themselves only wanted a life, but after joining the army, everyone had a bad time. In fact, how many ideas can people who are about to starve to death have? If they were not constantly deducted military pay and food, and their status in the army was worse than dogs, how many of the people who were about to starve to death would really be born rebellious and want to rebel?

He understood the helplessness of Dong Xiaochou and others, and he also knew the helplessness of killing Dong Xiaochou and others with his own hands. When they knelt in front of Xiao Gan and others as meritorious officials, and when Xiao Gan and others praised their merits, what he felt was still fear.

Those above were tigers, and they were not even dogs, perhaps only cockroaches. The other party could easily talk about whether to kill all of them, tens of thousands of people, and could easily leave them, tens of thousands of people, alive to express the other party's benevolence. When others felt fortunate, he saw Xiao Gan's dignified figure, he only felt fear.

The tiger stretched out its paws, lazily fiddled with the cockroach in front of it, yawned, and let go of its life.

After that, he felt fear every time he saw Xiao Gan, who had experienced hundreds of battles.

Such thoughts were not very strong at first. Knowing that the Jin and Wu people joined forces to attack the Liao, Xiao Gan and others had begun to distrust the army of the non-Liao people. Due to the history of the rebellion of the Resentment Army, that time, Xiao Gan, who had let go of the Resentment Army once, was going to attack him and others. Only Guo Yaoshi was the most alert. He suddenly reacted and incited everyone to defect to the Wu Dynasty first. Later it proved that this decision was correct.

That day, Guo Yaoshi suddenly found out that he could not be a cockroach or a dog, and could be somewhat human.

He then planned the battle to capture Yanjing, but the Wu Dynasty fellows were too stupid. Xiao Gan returned, crushing over like a nightmare. He had also thought about fighting hard on the battlefield, but the Wu Dynasty army collapsed so quickly that it disrupted his thoughts. In the end, he did not even have a chance to fight desperately. He could only escape in embarrassment under the coercion of a very small number of brothers.

Except for a loud scolding in the camp at the beginning, he did not complain about anything to the Wu people. Only constant expansion of the army and grabbing strong men to accumulate strength. He used his position to search for a large amount of money, on the one hand to settle his brothers, and on the other hand to give gifts to the officials of the Wu Dynasty everywhere, because the officials of the Wu Dynasty liked this.

Everyone liked it, so he could ask for support such as food and weapons, and could make everyone turn a blind eye to his grabbing of strong men. He also knew that some dissatisfied civil officials had submitted memorials to the court impeaching him, so he sent the other party more money. After the Changsheng Army expanded, some brothers had begun to become arrogant. In the friction with the Jin people, he was the first to come forward and suppress everyone's dissatisfaction: "Without victories, you are nothing. All of you, bear with me!"

This time, Xiao Gan's southward movement, he also secretly endured for a long time, bearing the pressure from all sides, first letting Zhang Linghui, Liu Shunren and others test the other party's color, and then quietly waiting for the opportunity, until now...

Floating clouds drifted, and the sky was bright. Under this still summer sun, the fiery red flag looked like the fierce flames condensed by the Liao Empire. Under that flag, there was that mountain-like hero, who was now about to press over here on this battlefield where tens of thousands of people were facing each other.

Guo Yaoshi quietly rode on his horse, watching there like a rock. Only the horse under him seemed to feel uneasy, moving slightly. He reached out and patted its neck, silently saying something in his heart, but the expression on his face was only colder and calmer.

The murderous spirit had spread.

In the south, in the Yellow River, carp swim against the current every spring to climb Longmen Mountain, and the sky fire burns their tails from behind and transforms them into dragons.

In front, that was his Longmen...